It most likely works as designed, usually one channel is used for sound effects, remaining 3 channels for music. Amiga does not have hardware panning so only way to "fix" it is external mixer, or in emulation "Stereo Separation" option.

It most likely works as designed, usually one channel is used for sound effects, remaining 3 channels for music. Amiga does not have hardware panning so only way to "fix" it is external mixer, or in emulation "Stereo Separation" option.

It would need emulator side "channel mirroring" but it isn't implemented.

I am not sure if it makes much sense because "effect channel" is game specific (=it needs manual selection, automatic is impossible) and some games use all 4 channels for music and when it needs to play sound effect, currently unused or lowest priority music channel is used (=any channel can become "effect channel").

Back in the old days I never noticed it because I only had monitor with one speaker. After an upgrade to a monitor with stereo speakers it still wasn't all that noticable because the speakers weren't very far apart. Nowadays with a hookup to a receiver it becomes more noticable. And playing mono can sometimes be a solution. Not all of the times because most games have nice stereo effects.

It's funny, because you said "most games", so your memory has to be VERY hazy not to remember a single one.

My point is: your memory isn't hazy, MOST if any games used any kind of stereo effects, because channels are very limited and using stuff like panning is a waste.
So yeah, don't get absorbed by rose-tinted glasses nostalgia, the "Stereo" capability of the Amiga is way overstated, and listening with headphones was an exercise in masochism. Even with a stereo system it was so annoying, that I resorted to listen to the Amiga in mono because of this.

The system was meant to be used with the shitty Amiga monitor speakers, where the monitor's case worked as some kind of channel "blender", and made the terrible separation bearable.

I'll give you ONE example of a game using stereo though: Stardust is the one and only game where a stereo effect was used to good effect on its intro, when the spaceship comes up. Nothing else did (and especially NOT in game, more if you are trying to juggle music and sfx at the same time). I have this very vivid memory (not hazy ) of freaking out because it was the first time I ever heard something in real stereo in a game.

So yeah, don't get absorbed by rose-tinted glasses nostalgia, the "Stereo" capability of the Amiga is way overstated, and listening with headphones was an exercise in masochism. Even with a stereo system it was so annoying, that I resorted to listen to the Amiga in mono because of this.

Tell me about it, I never liked listening to the Amiga with fully separate stereo for the most part, but I'm glad they offered the option for better soundtracks based on large WAV-style files.

Almost the whole time, my Amiga sound option was mono, between the modulator and the TV and my main cassette recorder all being mono.